2006 Ford Five Hundred SE from North America - Comments

5th Oct 2006, 13:07

Windshield wipers don't just tear by themselves and neither does the carpeting nor does a brand new engine knock when it has been proven reliable for decades. Either the car was assembled wrong or this review is by a Toyota lover.

5th Oct 2006, 14:25

Actually, it's Ford who's in a more dire position when you don't count the money both companies are losing. And as for this review...it's far fetched... I don't believe this stuff happend to a brand new 500. Sorry.

7th Oct 2006, 20:57

To those of you who do not believe what has happened to the car, there is nothing I can say, but... are any of you willing to come and view the vehicle? If so, please post, I live in the Guelph Ontario area. You are very welcome to view it.

13th Oct 2006, 13:49

I really believe this review is a bad attempt to tarnish the image of a very well built car. I know two people with them and they have had no problems. It must be a Toyota or Honda lover (or employee of the mentioned companies)

17th Oct 2006, 16:42

I purchased a 2005 Ford Five Hundred and am having the rear brakes and rotors replaced for the second time under the 36,000-mile warranty (currently has about 35,500 miles). The dealer has given me no problem with fixing the brakes. However, they were very surprised to learn that the rear brakes were wearing so quickly. This time, the service agent stated that he recently came to Ford from Volvo and stated that Volvo has several models with 15,000-mile brake pads. The Ford Five Hundred is on a Volvo S80 frame, and he suggested that 15,000 miles may just be the life of the factory pads. I have never owned a vehicle before on which the rear pads wore faster than the front pads, but this vehicle appears to be an exception. Besides the brakes, I have only had two other problems, which were both repaired under warranty. First, the vinyl cover on the lid of the in-dash storage compartment bubbled. The service agent said that they had replaced several other lids with the same problem. Secondly, the vehicle began surging at low speeds. When the service department inspected the vehicle, they found a service memorandum for Ford that said to reset the vehicle's computer to correct the problem. While I am disappointed in the life of the rear brakes, I am, otherwise, pleased with the vehicle.

25th Oct 2006, 12:52

It is funny how so many people say this review is not true when the owner has offered for them to inspect the vehicle himself. Maybe THEY are the subjective ones. LATEST information: Ford has come clean on the brakes and has offered to replace them. Ford has also said that they would like my car for two weeks and will provide me with a Fusion to drive in the meantime. They said they will replace the engine if this is what it takes. At least they are coming clean, I give them that.

26th Oct 2006, 05:55

The statement that Volvo brakes are supposed to last only 15.000 miles is pure nonsense. Maybe if you do track racing with your car it will last 15.000 but with normal usage you should see 40-50.000 miles. But replacing at 35.000 may not be that abnormal. I agree the rear brakes should last longer, but in my experience this is normal mileage for most models. Remember that rear disk brakes does not last as long as drum brakes that may last 100.000 miles if you drive carefully. Actually I question why every manufacturer is equipping their cars with rear disk brakes, even normal family cars. From a maintenance perspective rear disk brakes are no good, and they are more expensive to produce and repair. The main reasons I've heard are higher heat dissipation when driving hard and that they work somewhat better with modern traction control systems. But most cars does not need them and I question whether this development is any good.

13th Nov 2006, 16:09

I've been following the comments regarding premature wear of the rear brakes, my 2005 Ford 500 has 49000 miles, and I'd say 90% of those miles were due to Interstate driving. What alarms me is that since my mileage is probably out of the ordinary, what does this translate into with other drivers future brake problems? The rear rotors recently gave a grinding noise, which indicates pads, so these were replaced on all 4, with rotors turned as well. 2 days later the noise is back. It is rather odd that the rears wear quicker than the load bearing front brakes. Bear in mind that both rear rotors were turned on the lathe due to warpage, around 20k. One issue to look out for is that when the wheels are rotated, the mechanics blast the nuts back on with the air wrench, leading to all kinds of torque variations. Routinely, when a service is done, I torque the bolts down per specs, thinking variations in tightness could have led to warping problems. I still have problems with warping rotors. Going back to the dealer tomorrow... I was thinking about buying this car at 70k (It's a company car) but now having second thoughts. Overall the car is adequate, but since brakes have been on cars for over a hundred years.. why aren't they perfected yet?

14th Nov 2006, 18:30

I have a 2005 Ford 500 which I purchased in August, 2005. In March, 2006, at 11,000 miles, I had to replace the rear brake pads and rotors, which the dealer did under warranty. Now, in November, 2006, at 24,000 miles, I had to replace rear pads and rotors, AGAIN. This time, since it was more than a year old, it was NOT a warranty repair. I have been driving for 30 years and have never had a car that wears out rear brakes like this.

I also have the same problem of bubbling on the dashboard storage lid, but no other complaints. Last Ford I'll buy!

22nd Nov 2006, 20:08

I have been driving Ford Explorers for the past 15 years. in January 2006 I purchased a Ford Five hundred. Recently I had the oil changed, tire rotation, and told I needed rear brakes. I currently have 19,000 miles on this car. My normal run on brakes is 40k to 50k.

I would like to know how others had the brakes done under warranty when I was told $180 to $270.00 by 2 Chicago dealerships.

27th Nov 2006, 16:44

I purchased a 2005 Ford 500, after 20,000 plus miles the car would not start. My husband left for work, a small line was on the windshield, after returning home the crack had spread against the entire windshield. There was no impact of anything hitting the car, also, the rear passenger door holds more water when it rains than a 5 gallon bucket. I am wondering have anyone had a defective windshield, or is it raining in the real panel door?

29th Nov 2006, 10:56

I have had my Ford 500 for a little over a year. The upper dashboard compartment bubbled 2 times from heat. The dealership told me they were looking to resolve this issue as I wasn't the only one having this happen (they never called to say it had been resolved). My driver side power window goes down when I hit the button to go up (seems to happen more often when it is cold outside). My brakes have started to squeal (27,000 miles). Will be turning the lease in March of 2007. Despite all the cons... I like the car. It's roomy and drives well.